


Just a Bet

by Sunnyrea



Category: Life on Mars (UK)
Genre: Humor, M/M, PG - Green Cortina, Time Period: 1973-1981 (Life on Mars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-09
Updated: 2009-01-09
Packaged: 2019-01-20 18:38:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12439179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunnyrea/pseuds/Sunnyrea
Summary: Gene and Sam are having another of their famous fights but will this one settle the bet?





	1. Just a Bet

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Janni, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [the Collators' Den](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Collators%27_Den), which was moved to the AO3 to ensure access and longevity for the fanworks. I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in October 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [the Collators' Den collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/collatorsden/profile).
> 
>  **Author's notes:** So I just had this scene in my head and it kept making me giggle so I had to write it down since I figured everyone would get a kick out of it.

“Listen to me, Gov!” Sam shouted, only centimeters away from Gene's face. “We have to go over the evidence again!”

 

 

“Enough with your soddin' evidence that bloody sheep skinner is guilty!”

 

 

Gene pointed emphatically at the door behind him, practically spitting in anger.

 

 

“Sheep skinner? He's a tailor!”

 

 

“A friggin' cock sucking murdering tailor!”

 

 

“We don't know that for sure! Bobby said he saw-”

 

 

“You mean when he was high as a kite?”

 

 

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose, “I mean we need to reexamine...”

 

 

“Sod it, Tyler. I can tell he's the bloody one!”

 

 

The room was silent around them, the rest of the team watching in shock. It wasn't as though Gene and Sam didn't fight over cases just about every other day, that was regular as clockwork. They would always start in Gene's office and the others could hear their voices steadily get louder. Sometimes Sam would just storm out, conversation over while other times Gene would throw him out. Today, however, it was a crash and bang it out sort of argument.

 

 

“God, you just don't listen!” Sam shouted, throwing his hands up and turning away from Gene.

 

 

“Getting your knickers in a twist, are you Gladys?”

 

 

Sam whirled back around, “You just don't want to do what I suggest! You think you always have to be completely right!”

 

 

“Because I am always right,” Gene shot back with a wicked grin.

 

 

Ray, Chris, and Annie sat on the edge of Sam's desk, heads going back and forth. Annie passed two cups of coffee down to Chris and Ray, the three of them settling in.

 

 

“Always right? Right about the amount of liquor you need maybe!”

 

 

“Getting a bit cheeky are we now, Tyler?”

 

 

“Sugar?” Annie asked the two men beside her.

 

 

“Not now,” they replied both taking a sip of their coffee.

 

 

“Cheeky!?” Sam practically screamed.

 

 

“You just can't handle that I can do this job without needing to check every piece of rubbish and bleein' heart relative with a tight arsed nick picking fine toothed fucking comb!” Gene snapped back.

 

 

“You are such a god damn backward bloody-”

 

 

Sam did not get the chance to finish this sentence because Gene suddenly growled in frustration, grabbed Sam violently by his sides and kissed him on the mouth. Sam went stiff in obvious surprise which only made Gene pull Sam closer and kiss him harder. Then Sam seemed to come back to life, hands onto Gene's arms and kissing him back.

 

 

“YES!” Chris cheered.

 

 

Gene and Sam broke apart and looked at the other three as if they only just realized they were there in the room.

 

 

“I bloody told you!” Ray cried clicking mugs with Chris.

 

 

“You have got to be kidding me,” Annie said, staring in shock.

 

 

“That is 15 quid from you, missy,” Ray said with a grin.

 

 

“I don't believe it,” she groaned putting a hand over her eyes.

 

 

“What the ruddy hell is going on?” Gene snapped.

 

 

Sam was blushing profusely and looking between all four of them as if he expected to be lynched at any moment.

 

 

“You just got me 15 quid, gov,” Ray said raising his mug in a mock toast.

 

 

“What?” Gene said, hands on his hips.

 

 

“15 big ones!” Chris said, standing up and doing a little victory dance.

 

 

“Wait,” Sam said suddenly, looking shocked. “You're not all freaking out about what just happened?”

 

 

“I am!” Annie said standing up. “I just lost bloody 30 pounds!”

 

 

Sam and Gene looked at each other then back at the other three. They both crossed their arms and stared, eyebrows raised, waiting. Chris chuckled and tried to hide it in his mug. Annie just sighed, sitting down at her desk and propping her head up on her hands in a dejected manner.

 

 

“We had a bet goin', Gov,” Ray responded, standing up and putting his mug down. “'bout which one of you would snog the other 'ere first.”

 

 

“What!?” Sam said, arms dropping.

 

 

“You are kiddin' me...” Gene muttered.

 

 

“Annie 'ere thought it would be Sam but Chris and I were betting on you, Gov,” Ray said grinning.

 

 

“I thought it had to be, Sam!” Annie cried.

 

 

“Well, it weren't,” Chris said with a smile.

 

 

“You bet,” Sam said slowly, “on which one of us,” he motioned between himself and Gene, “would snog the other first?”

 

 

Gene slowly began to grin. Turning to Sam, he shrugged and laughed. Then he looked back at Ray and Chris, a sort of proud expression on his face.

 

 

“Well, good to know that you two have some sort of brains between ya.” He looked at Annie. “And what have you got to say for yourself, Miss 30 quid lighter?”

 

 

She sighed heavily. “I thought it had to be Sam, I mean...” she paused and looked guiltily at Sam. He raised his eyebrows at her putting his hands on his hips. “Well, I…” she continued then threw up her hands. “I mean look at him!”

 

 

Sam gaped at her as Gene, Ray, and Chris burst out laughing.

 

 

“She's got a bit of point, Dorothy,” Gene said.

 

 

“I can't bloody believe-” Sam started.

 

 

“Oh, shut up, you tosser,” Gene said pulling Sam to him and kissing him again.

 

 

Annie put her forehead down on her desk. The other two picked up their mugs and sat back down at their own desks.

 

 

“Oy, Cartwright,” Ray said. She put her head up. “Pay up.”

 

 

“Yes, please,” Chris said with a grin.

 

 

“You're both bloody vultures,” She said opening her desk drawer and pulling out her purse.

 

 

Gene smiled against Sam's lips and kissed him harder. What a good team!


	2. Just a Bet

“It ever seem to you that when the Gov and Tyler are fightin' they're gonna start to snog?”

 

 

Annie and Chris looked up and turned their heads to stare at Ray. The room was dead silent. Sam and Gene were out following up a lead on a current murder case they had, the others had long gone home and it was just the three of them in there now.

 

 

“WHAT!?” Chris and Annie shouted.

 

 

Ray stood up, “Come on, you've got to have seen it.”

 

 

They just stared at him.

 

 

“You know how they get into their fights and are always up in each other's face. Half the time it looks like they’re just gonna go and close the gap, I mean you gotta see how damn close they get every time.”

 

 

“They do do that...” Chris said chewing on the end of his pen.

 

 

“But snog?” Annie said standing up as well and leaning on the side of her desk.

 

 

“Come on,” Ray said. “I fight with Tyler but ‘e never gets that close to me, same with the Gov.”

 

 

“And the Gov usually only gets close to people when 'e's gonna knock 'em one,” Chris continued starting to become more animated.

 

 

“They always ‘ave those face offs too,” Ray continued walking over to Chris, “where they just stare at each other, waitin’ for something.”

 

 

“They never look away either!” Chris said, pointing at Ray and grinning widely.

 

 

“’old up!” Annie said walking over to the other two with her hands up. “So they disagree sometimes, that don’t mean they’re just gonna…” she paused and whispered, “snog!”

 

 

“Come on, Cartwright!” Ray said throwing up a hand. “They spend all their time ‘agether.”

 

 

“They do,” Chris put in.

 

 

“And Tyler always gets the front seat in the Gov's car.”

 

 

“He does,” Chris said.

 

 

“And they are always grabbin’ each other’s arms to stop the other from walkin’ away,” Ray made a disbelieving face.

 

 

Annie pursed her lips and crossed her arms. The other two men stared at her, half smiles on their faces, watching her think.

 

 

“You know….” Annie started.

 

 

“See!” Ray said.

 

 

“It’s kinda uncanny…” Chris added.

 

 

Annie snapped her fingers and pointed at them. “But they do get in fights! Real ones. One of them snaps half the time and just beats on the other, especially the Gov!”

 

 

“That’s ‘ow we men show affection,” Ray said.

 

 

Annie just stared blankly at him.

 

 

“Well, we do hit people we don’ like as well,” Chris said.

 

 

“But fights also mean affection,” Ray said.

 

 

“What are you sayin', they're in love?” Annie said, sounding half hysterical

 

 

“No!” Ray replied indignantly. “Just that they'll snog.”

 

 

Huffing, Annie sat on the edge of her desk, “You’re bloody mad.”

 

 

Ray shrugged and looked at Chris. He nodded as if to say, ‘I’m with you.’ Both turned to regard Annie again. She was staring at the floor chewing on the edge of her lip looking rather like she wanted to throw up.

 

 

“All right,” she said still looking at the floor. “Say I believe this for a minute, its never gonna actually happen.”

 

 

“It's got to,” Ray said.

 

 

“What?” Annie said standing up and waving an arm around to indicated the room. “Right here?”

 

 

“It's where they fight most,”

 

 

“They fight everywhere,” Chris said with a helpful smile on his face.

 

 

“Yes, so... well...” Annie's face slowly started to come to life, bright and excited like the other two. “Oh god and they do always disappear into 'is office like who knows what's going to happen in there and the Gov always takes Sam when he's goin' anywhere! It's bloody inevitable that they'll just....” she made a dog-like hand gesture, “pounce on each other!”

 

 

“Told ya,” Ray said with a smirk.

 

 

“Bu' which one of 'em would do it first?” Chris asked suddenly.

 

 

“Sam-Gov,” Annie and Ray said at once without hesitation then looked at each other.

 

 

“Sam,” Annie insisted.

 

 

“No, the Gov,” Ray insisted right back.

 

 

“It would 'ave to be Sam,: Annie said. “One: 'es prettier.”

 

 

“What does that-” Ray started.

 

 

“And!” Annie said cutting him off, “Usually its him starting the fight because he doesn't like the Gov's method.”

 

 

“Yeah,” Ray said, “But the Gov is more forceful, more likely to do extreme things.”

 

 

“'e usually goes for the punch, though,” Annie said. “Sam's more... diplomatic.”

 

 

“Naw, 'e'd be too chicken,” Ray said shaking his head. “The Gov's got the balls for it.”

 

 

“Sam's sweeter!”

 

 

“The Gov's braver!”

 

 

“Chris?” They both said turning to the man between them.

 

 

He glanced back and forth between their earnest faces quickly looking nervous. He backed up a step and help up his hands.

 

 

“I 'ave to go with Ray 'ere, Annie.”

 

 

“Ugh!” She exclaimed throwing up her hands and pacing.

 

 

“The Gov is definitely the action man,” Chris said, nodding assuredly.

 

 

Annie shook her head and crossed her arms.

 

 

“Sam's the one more in touch with 'e's feelings, though and the Gov has his wife as well, remember.”

 

 

“Don't matter,” Ray said, not missing a beat. “This is different, not to do with 'is missus.”

 

 

Pursing her lips Annie walked back to her desk confidently and slowly sat down. She crossed her legs and then crossed her arms, fixing Ray with a determined look.

 

 

“Care to put some money on that then?”

 

 

“What?” Ray said.

 

 

“5 quid it's Sam,” She said.

 

 

Chris and Ray both stared at her as though they were still processing the fact that it was Annie who had just wagered money over this. Finally, Ray held out his hand. Annie took it and they shook once.

 

 

“Done.”

 

 

They looked at Chris and he held out his hand.

 

 

“5 says its the Gov,” he said.

 

 

Annie shook his hand and nodded.

 

 

\-----------------

 

 

Gene had Sam held by the collar so high that Sam was on his tip toes, barely touching the floor. The others were standing at attention, ready to jump in should Gene start to strangle the life out of Sam or who knows what.

 

 

“I'm telling you,” Sam said, voice completely calm and slow as he stared straight at Gene. “I'm right if you would just believe me.”

 

 

The Gov leaned his face in closer to Sam's and tightened his grip on Sam's collar, teeth set. They stared hard at each other, another face off. Annie, Chris and Ray all tensed. Then Gene let go of Sam, the other dropping unsteadily back onto his feet.

 

 

“Fine,” Gene said putting his hands on his hips. “Let's go then, Dorothy.”

 

 

Sam turned on his heel, grabbed his leather jacket off his chair and the two of them burst out through the swinging doors to follow Sam's lead.

 

 

Ray cleared his throat noisily. Chris and Annie both looked over at him.

 

 

“What you say we make it 10, eh Cartwright?”

 

 

He grinned slowly at her.

 

 

“I'm game,” Chris said.

 

 

Annie narrowed her eyes and nodded.

 

 

“Fine then, make it 10.”

 

 

\-----------------

 

 

Gene and Sam came back from the kidnapping case, wet through from the rain and shaken by the near miss with the little girl. The kidnapper had come so close with the knife and Gene had barely missed getting sliced himself when he got the girl out of the way. Upon their return Annie had made sure the girl was well situated in the break room, sleeping on the couch while they waited for her parents to come. It had been a very close call.

 

 

“Here Gov,” Sam said pulling off Gene's wet coat. “You're gonna bloody die of pneumonia.”

 

 

Gene let him take it off and just nodded, too thrown still by the case to seemingly care.

 

 

“Hey,” Sam said leading Gene into his office with a steady hand on his shoulder. “May as well break open a bottle.”

 

 

“Good idea,” Gene replied as the door closed behind them.

 

 

Annie looked over at Ray and Chris. She raised her eyebrows at them and grinned. Ray just crossed his arms.

 

 

“15,” She said.

 

 

“You're on,” Ray and Chris replied.

 

 

“Definitely Sam,” Annie said turning back to her desk.

 

 

“Gov,” Chris and Ray said in time.

 

 

They would just have to wait and see.


End file.
